Patala is a realm of intelligent apes ruled by Nagas, divine serpent beings of the Underworld Realm of Patala.

In the dense forests of the Bandar realm, apes of uncanny brightness have emerged. Under the influence of semi-divine beings, the apes evolved intelligence and culture. When the former rulers of Bandar Log returned to their Celestial Realms, the apes were left without leadership and innovation in the nation ground to a halt. A warlike hierarchical society was formed with the large Bandar apes at the top. Later, Nagas arrived from the Nether Realm of Patala, from where all rivers spring. The Nagas are divine beings of the Underworld and its rivers and are to the apes what the Yakshas had been in ages past. With mesmerizing stares and dancing serpentine bodies, they entranced the Bandar Log and claimed their empire as their own. Patala is a divided society. Small Markatas are at the bottom of the society. Vanara apes of human size are the most common. Large Bandar apes rule most of the society and form the military. Above all are the sacred Nagas and their kings.

Patala is the last station of the monkey and ape lineup of Lanka and Kailasa in the early ages and Bandar Log in the middle ages.

They keep their troop lineup of Bandar Log with one big difference, the more straightforward and general purpose-killy Tiger Rider is replaced with the more niche naga sacreds.

When it comes to mages the heavy astral access in Kailasa is traded for a superb earth and water access with the capital only Naga mages.

Patala keep their suite of blood monkey and celestial yaksha national summons, but loose Celestial Music to recruit naga.

Special Race Attributes	Military	Magic Access	Priests	Buildings
Prefers Heat +2 Monke Likes Forests White Ones: Sacred Base 1 Protection +1 MR vs. Humans Might Reincarnate Bandar Apes: Size 3 Base 3 Protection +8 HP vs. Humans +5 STR vs. Humans +2 MOR vs. Humans +1 ATT vs. Humans -1 DEF & PRE vs. Humans -2 MM & MR vs. Humans Vanara Monkeys: Base 1 Protection -2 MR & MOR vs. Humans Markata Monkeys: Size 1 +4 DEF & CS vs. Humans -2 PRE vs. Humans -3 MR & MOR vs. Humans -5 HP & STR vs. Humans Just Won't Sit Still Nagas: Likes Caves Size 3 +6 HP vs. Humans +3 MR vs. Humans +2 STR vs. Humans +1 MOR & DEF vs. Humans Base 5 Protection Amphibious	Iron Varied Ranged Weapons (less good in high-PROT LA) War Elephants Some Stealthy Troops Naga Sacreds	4 (rare 5) 4 (rare 5) 2 (rare 3) 2 (rare 3) Summons: 4 (rare 5) (req. 21) 4 (rare 5) (req. 21) 2 (req. 3) 333 (req. 5)	Average (2) Summons: 2 (req. 3) 3 (req. 4) 4 (req. 5)	Citadel

Reincarnation gives your White Ones a chance to return from death WITHIN YOUR DOMINION, if their Experience is high, but they won't return as their original form if their kill count is too high; they'll appear as a Bandar instead, though those who don't kill still have a roughly 25% chance to come back as a Markata or (if not a Commander) a regular Vanara. White Ones (typically those with extra-high Experience) might achieve Moksha instead, adding a Dominion candle somewhere and occasionally boosting your Pretender's Magic; the Magic-boost only happens in paths that the deceased Commander has, and will not happen if the Pretender's level in that path is the same or higher.

You unit lineup is mostly made up of animals with below average Magic Resistance and Morale. Your troops are very likely to succumb to fear spells or fail to resist Charm Animal.

animals Summons: Spend nature gems for animal chaff with big hp pools but low MR. Nature gems are desperately needed elsewhere. Only used when Desperate for bodies.

• Herd of Elephants Conj 3, 2, 25. (Elephant x5+[1/2lv]) Biggest HP pool.
• Ambush of Tigers Conj 3, 2, 10. (Tiger x5+[1/2lv]): as multiple attacks
• Herd of Buffaloes Conj 3, 2, 10. (Buffalo x5+[1/2lv]): Traplers that never retreat.

• Host of Ganas: Conj 2 1 for 12. ( Ganax20). These Ghost monkeys are very mage turn efficient units to mass, costing 0.6 per Gana. They are perhaps most notable for having magic weapons and being ethereal. Not inflicting a tremendous amount of damage themselves can be a very effective screen vs. units with no magic weapons. Being ethereal and having a shield, they are also effective vs. archers.
• Summon Vetalas: Conj 5 2 for 10. ( Possessed Corpse, Vetalax10). Cheap death summons with a second ethereal form that has an armor-piercing life drain attack as well as an attack that feebleminds the target. Like all second-form troops that survive, the unit will revert to the first form after the battle. Notably, Well protected with the first form has some armor and a buckler while the second form is ethereal.

Sacred Summons:

• Summon Apsaras Conj 3, 2, 2. ( Apsarax3). Has high protection from melee but none for Ranged. It provides extra moral to units, so the troops are less likely to run.

• Contact Yaksha Conj 4, 21, 25. ( Yakshax1) Spend Nature gems to summon one of your strong cap only mages.

• Contact Yakshini Conj 4, 21, 25. ( Yakshinix1). Spend Nature gems to summon one of your strong cap only mages.

• Summon Gandharvas Conj 5, 2, 18. ( Gandharvax6). A combination of a Yavana and an Apsara but also wears full armor. A Fantastic Elite unit you will sadly only get limited quantities of.

• Summon Kinnara Conj 6, 3, 25. ( Kinnarax1) A flying and Inspirational 222 commander. Having Thunderstrike that can quicly be anywhere is a good thing, especlay when they can communion up for high air magic.

• Summon Siddha Conj 7, 4, 35. ( Siddhax1). A Four hand slot 233 Teleporter. It has bad melee stats, unlike Devata(below), and only one Misc slot, but you can do many things with the ability to be anywhere. Can claim Thrones, especially if you plan to rush.

• Summon Devata Conj 8, 5, 45. (1x Devata) A better thug chassis and a great army leader. It loses a Misc slot, but there are many shenanigans you can do with 4 hands. Not a teleporter like the Siddha but can still Cloud Trapeze.

• Summon Devala Conj 9, 5, 55. (1x Devala). A Fanaticism caster and passivly spread your dominon.

• Summon Rudra Conj 9, 5, 55. (1x Rudra). The National Super thug. It starts with ok gear and gets stronger if a storm is up. They will Break you into 333 and their cross paths in and out of labs. Anyone that experienced a Cloud Trapezeing Yomi Dai Oni would understand how good a thug a Rudra is.

After Lanka fell, the monkeys keep their blood arts just in case. Some Good summons but you are not a native blood nation, so this is a side path, diverting resources from the nation's main strengths in hopes of more late-game diversity, assuming your opponents don't take advantage of the power lag caused by this major diversion. This is research path is best made before pretender design. LA's large population makes it easier for non-blood mages to collect slaves but Patala does also want usable spells right away to stay comparative with the ages improved infantry.

• Summon Rakshasas: Blood 1 1 for 10. ( Rakshasax3). Like your other national Demen apes, they are Sacred with Chaos Power, Vulnerable to Fire. The Rakshasa is available very early (blood 1) and has two claw attacks but quite low protection. In turmoil 3, it will hit twice for 22 damage with 16 attacks. When attack density is needed over raw damage, they might be preferable to Rakshasa Warriors. They also have quite high HP pools at 28.

• Feast of Flesh: Blood 2 11 for 50. ( Praghasax15). The Praghasa is very similar to the rakshasa but is more mage turn efficient to summon and has notably more HP (35). This unit is the most efficient way to turn blood slaves into sacred HP in Lanka. So while it has higher strength and HP than the Rakshasa, it gives up its two attacks in favor of a single mace attack.

• Summon Asrapas: Blood 3 2 for 11( Asrapax3) Asrapas are quite cheap compared to other Lankan summonses. While having no protection, they have rather good attack and defense stats and a built-in life-draining magic weapon as well as a kick. This gives asrapa better attack density than other Lankan summonses. Once berserk, in turmoil 3, their athame will be 20 attacks and 23 magic damage, and their kick will be 18 attacks and 19 damage. They also do no have fire vulnerability, unlike most Lankan demons. Asrapas can also be gift of reasoned to be turned into commanders, at which point they gain a Hidden which matters mores to other nations with this spell.

• Summon Rakshasa Warriors: Blood 4 2 for 25. ( Rakshasa Warriorx5). The Rakshasa warrior is the middle ground between the expensive, well-equipped elite summons and cheap, poorly equipped summons. Costing only 5 slaves per unit yet still having decent armor and a high damage two-handed cudgel, the Rakshasa Warrior a very compelling middle-of-the-road option for trade-offs between quality and price.

• Summon Sandhyabalas: Blood 5 21 for 33. ( Sandhyabalax3) Some of Lanka's most expensive elite heavy infantry. Sandhyabalas carry a Moonblade and a buckler but have no helmet. They do have phenomenal stats in turmoil and darkness: Their moon blade will do 32 magic damage with 20 attacks (64 damage vs. magic beings!) while they sport an impressive 17 defense. If their enemy also has the darkness penalty, the stat difference can become huge. While very strong, they are much more expensive than other Lankan summons and more vulnerable to fire (10).

• Summon Dakini: Blood 6 41 for 81. ( Dakinix1) 3132 Sacred. Demon. Chaos Power 1. Damage Reversal. Fear 6. Flying. Shock Resistance 5. The Dakini is very competent in the roles of a thug, air mage, or blood mage. Like a thug, damage reversal will block and reflect all damage if the enemy fails an MR check. This is notable for both reducing incoming damage and potentially killing high-value targets such as mages. They are also competent sabbath masters.

• Summon Samanishada: Blood 7 31 for 35( Samanishadax1). Sacred. Demon. Assassin. Chaos Power 1. Dark Power 2. Fire Vulnerability 10. The Samanishada is a competent assassin having a Moon Blade and a Duskdagger (usually costing 510 to forge) along with an excellent stat melee stat line. Dark power is of special importance if the battle happens at night (50% chance). While quite effective without gear vs. simple targets, higher-value targets will often require items to assist in successful assassinations.

• Summon Mandeha: Blood 8 Cost: 133. 3323, ( Mandehax1) Sacred. Demon. Chaos Power 2. Dark Power 3. Sleep Aura. Flying. Autocasts Darkness at the start of combat. Fear 8. Fire Vulnerability 10. The Mandeha is a super combatant tier summon having 65 hp, a great stat line (especially in turmoil and darkness), and many SC supporting abilities. The Mandeha is also excellent at supporting undead and demon armies by auto-casting darkness every fight. Having H3, it is also able to divine blessing large sacred demon armies and claim thrones. It is, however, vulnerable to anti-demon weapons and spells.

• Summon Danavas: Blood 8 5 for 75( Danavax3). They are Sacred Demons with Fear 5, Ambidextrous 8. Danava is top tier units which can be turned into commanders with Gift of Reason or Divine Name to gain magic paths 2250%
  50%
  50%
  50% paths. By default, they have 3 unholy weapons which paralyze sacreds and poor armor with a weak shield. As units, they are relatively cheap anti-elite units. If turned into a commander and kitted properly, they become much more durable and become a super combatant.

Patala has effectively four paths, despite what its national summons might say:

• Water is the primary path of the Nagas, in terms of Gem income and paths. You'll eventually get a Nagarishi with 4, while your Naginis might have 3 and your Nagaraja commanders have 2. On the other hand, the high Water access is tied with the Nagas' higher-HP form; if you want your Nagas to last the longest in battle, you'll have them start out in their lower-HP form, which doesn't get the +1 pathboost. Regardless, Patala can easily reach 6 through boosters, without even looking at a Queen of Elemental Water.
• Earth is the primary path of the Nagas when they're not in Naga form, if only because you'll eventually get a Nagarishi with 4. With the Earth Boots in their non-Naga form, that Nagarishi can uplift you to 5 on its own. That's your ceiling, unfortunately, as no King of Elemental Earth will wear shoes.
• Astral is the primary path of the White Ones, also known as your only Mages outside the capital. Your Gurus have 2; take it or leave it. Fortunately, you'll eventually get a Nagarishi with 32 who can forge the Crystal Coin, allowing your Monkeys (or that Nagarishi) with the Starshine Skullcap to reach 4. This is a rather-significant upgrade from Kailasa.
• Nature is nobody's favorite magic path in the Empire of animal-people, ironically. You'll eventually get a Nagini or a Nagarishi with 2, who will be able to craft the Thistle Mace; said Nagarishi will have 12, to be specific, and can use the Mace to craft the Moonvine Bracelet for a grand total of 4. You're just short of Mother Oak, unfortunately, when you really want Nature Gems for getting real Yakshas and Yakshinis (other pretty-good Elemental Mages).

We can now go over the national summons. If you have the patience to reach 3, you can then summon a Kinnara for 2. If you have the patience to reach 4, you can summon Siddhas somewhat late in the game to climb the Astral ladder another level, and then your 5 can summon a Rudra for 333. Your 5 can also summon 4's who spread Dominion and raise local Magic Scales.

You monkey would love it if you can find a fire mage to cast Flaming Arrows and Strength of Giants.

Yakshas with Eath Boots are your strongest combat mage, improving your troops' natural prot with Earth spells and make enemies them easy pickings with Curse of Stones

Yakshini is your underwater expander by summoning Full size Water Elementals and School of Sharks.

Guru communions are your massed mage, casting Swarm, Howl, Enslave Mind, and Mind Burn

Having a strong earth and Water Access makes Summoning the respective Elemental Royalty easy.

Forest Troll Tribe and Contact Naiad improves your magic, with Troll Shamans dipping you into Death and Naiads can get you into 5.

Could craft Golem as a hard to kill thugs.

Headdress of the Bull 5 1. Grant the user +2 strength and a retinue of a Buffalo. Great on a mage as the Buffalos can buy time for the caster and run over any would-be assassin's retinue.

Vajra 10 2. Shock Damage weapon that can be made by an astral mage. Adds armor ignoring damage on a thug, and even if not a melee guy, a mage can benefit by the Resist Shock(10) and be able to cast Lightning Bolt.

This is probably the most difficult section to get consensus for. Describe how strong the nation is during expansion, the early, mid and late game, and what makes it strong/weak at each of those points. This should give readers an idea of where the weaknesses of a nation lie (if they have not been shown already) and when to take advantage of a nation's strengths.

List some example expansion strategies here. If a strong bless or pretender is required then leave the specifics for the pretender section.

List some example pretender builds. Try to use the following format to keep authorship and pretender design rationale clear.

Dominions 5 Nation Intro by Perun (2021) (dose forget the naga mages have a second shape that have feet slots.)

Maerlande's Monkey Madness by Maerlande

Nations
Early Ages	Arcoscephale • Ermor • Ulm • Marverni • Sauromatia • T'ien Ch'i • Machaka • Mictlan • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Agartha • Tir na n'Og • Fomoria • Vanheim • Helheim • Niefelheim • Rus • Kailasa • Lanka • Yomi • Hinnom • Ur • Berytos • Xibalba • Mekone • Ubar • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Pelagia • Oceania • Therodos
Middle Ages	Arcoscephale • Ermor • Sceleria • Pythium • Man • Eriu • Ulm • Marignon • Mictlan • T'ien Ch'i • Machaka • Agartha • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Asphodel • Vanheim • Jotunheim • Vanarus • Bandar Log • Shinuyama • Ashdod • Uruk • Nazca • Xibalba • Phlegra • Phaeacia • Ind • Na'ba • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Pelagia • Oceania • Ys
Late Ages	Arcoscephale • Pythium • Lemuria • Man • Ulm • Marignon • Mictlan • T'ien Ch'i • Jomon • Agartha • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Midgård • Utgård • Bogarus • Patala • Gath • Ragha • Xibalba • Phlegra • Vaettiheim • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Erytheia